A collision protection device is disclosed in German Patent Serial No. DE 197 01 516 C1.
When operating a laser processing machine, damage to the machine or to the workpiece caused by collision between the laser processing head and the workpiece must be prevented, and any deviation of the laser processing head from its desired position after a collision between the head and the workpiece must be precisely detected.
Like the means disclosed in German Patent Serial No. DE 35 23 887, the above-mentioned conventional collision protection device also requires additional position control.